


Overdue

by creepy_shetan



Category: Eureka
Genre: Community: comment_fic, Gen, Inspired by Poetry, Libraries, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-07
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 22:41:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1758761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creepy_shetan/pseuds/creepy_shetan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carter never expected to find Stark in a normal public library. (He never expected to find a normal public library in Eureka, for that matter.)</p><p>(Originally posted 2014/1/29 as a fill for a prompt.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Overdue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [icarus_chained](https://archiveofourown.org/users/icarus_chained/gifts).



Looking left then right, Carter checked each row before moving on to the next set of shelves. Although his steps were muffled by the stiff carpeting, the sound of his uniform shifting as he walked was loud to his own ears. As soon as he walked into the building Carter had decided it might be best to keep his keys in his palm instead of his pocket. The circulation desk’s lone occupant was a simple “out to lunch” sign that could have been placed there that day or years ago, it was hard to say. Even without someone to glare at him for disturbing the silence, Carter felt edgy. The place was eerily quiet. Surely he would’ve heard a sign of _anyone_ by now, right?

Carter finished his sweep of the nonfiction section with more than a little confusion. After he double-checked the reference section just to be sure, he paused with his hands resting on his belt and nearly sighed. Nearly, because just then he heard something that shocked Carter into swallowing the sigh back down. It was only a little thump, like a book being placed on a table, but in the stillness it was more like a booming echo.

Carter turned in a semicircle and arched an eyebrow when he realized that the noise came from the fiction section. His other eyebrow joined the first as he passed between the adult portion and the juvenile portion. He considered that maybe there was a classics section in the middle, but before he could investigate further, Carter found him.

Stark was turned away. In one arm he held a couple of books close to his chest while his other reached upward, his fingers skimming the spines until landing on one especially faded and frayed binding even amongst its fellow worn volumes. As he slid it off the shelf, a small cloud of dust floated in the orange light of sunset from the nearby window. The beam of light streaked across Stark’s forearm as well, his bared skin glowing momentarily before he moved away to a small table, his unbuttoned shirtsleeve hiding some of it from view as he gently placed the book down with the others. He then sat and carefully opened one, its tape-mended cover cracking but not breaking away from its pages.

From the new angle, Carter could see Stark’s face for the first time. His jaw dropped, just a little. The relaxed lean of his shoulders and the pure fondness on his face as he turned to another page left Carter at a complete and awkward loss. He was extremely curious about what could have that effect on Stark but at the same time couldn’t break the moment by moving or speaking.

Stark turned the page again, his small smile growing a fraction.

“I know you’re there, Carter.”

Carter almost dropped his keys. He tried to cover up the jingling by clearing his throat, but he knew Stark saw it, let alone heard it. He stepped away from the shelves and toward the table.

“Didn’t expect to find you _here_.” Carter paused at the slow blink of Stark’s eyes as he looked up at him, his expression suddenly very much unreadable. “Didn’t expect to find _here_ here, either, really. When Allison said ‘library’ I thought--”

“--You thought GD’s research library, which is basically a server room with a leaderboard on the wall of who has the most publications in Eureka’s history.”

“That was the actual number of publications? It looked more like the high scores in an arcade game!”

Stark shook his head in a way that was reserved for “Oh, Carter,” moments like this (it was relatively better than what Stark saved for others, namely Fargo), and after a beat he simultaneously motioned with one hand to the seat opposite his. Carter shakily took it, his mind sufficiently distracted from the books strewn across the table. Stark calmly stacked all but the one laying open before him and slid them out of the way toward the empty seat to his right, their spines turned away from Carter by design.

“Remember where you are.”

“Trust me, I can’t forget,” Carter replied with a sigh. 

He glanced around, noting that the sun had disappeared behind the trees outside and that the library had energy-efficient motion sensors rigged into half of its lighting like most of the other buildings in town. 

“I’ve driven past this place a few times, but...” Carter shook his head and started again. “Why does Eureka have a public library? Shouldn’t everything here have its own server room by now?”

“It does, to an extent. The newer acquisitions are in e-book format, but many of the oldest texts still need to be digitized. It also serves to familiarize students with physical libraries when writing papers and bibliographies and such.”

“At least that part sounds familiar.”

Stark shrugged. “It helps that Tesla High’s library is fully digital but fairly small.”

They drifted into silence, mainly because (a) Carter didn’t know how to ask Stark why he was there or what he was doing and (b) Stark knew exactly what Carter wanted to ask but didn’t care to volunteer any answers without any verbalized questions.

Over his book, Stark watched Carter grow uncomfortable with a smirk, which, when Carter noticed it, caused him to narrow his eyes and force words out of his mouth with little crafting.

“So, uh, where are the librarians, Stark? Or whatever crazy science-y name Eureka has for them? Or is there only one?”

“There are three,” Stark replied as he turned to the next page. “One’s in the back restoring texts and the other two have left for the day.”

“Oh.”

“...Carter.”

“Hmm?”

Stark blinked slowly with that neutral expression again, letting the pause stretch until Carter began to fidget and yet maintain eye contact.

“Why were you looking for me?”

As Carter thought of how best to answer, Stark sped up the process by smirking again. Carter immediately said the first thing that was _not_ filtered through his mind.

“For a case but it’s late so are you hungry?” he said in one breath. After processing his own words, Carter stammered. “I-I mean, I’m off the clock, so it can wait. Yeah. Or, uh...”

“Or?”

“Or we could discuss it -- or not, whatever -- over... over dinner?”

Stark let the smirk fall away, his lips forming an honest smile. He decided not to torture Carter with a delayed response this time. Besides, he looked anxious enough as it was. 

“Sure. After I reshelve these.”

While Carter was preoccupied with being shocked yet pleased, Stark softly closed the tape-covered book and scooped it up into his arms with its neatly stacked fellows.

When Carter rediscovered his voice, he asked, “Wait, aren’t only librarians supposed to reshelve books?”

Without turning around, Stark slid the next volume back into its place. “I hate to break it to you, but they just tell that to people who don’t understand basic alphanumeric sequencing.”

“I know how call numbers work, thank you very much.” 

“Glad to hear it.”

Carter’s curiosity kicked back into gear a minute too late as Stark returned the last book to its shelf, arranging it and its neighbors into a straight line. Maybe one day he’d work up the nerve to ask about Stark’s choice in reading material -- hopefully in less time than it took to finally ask him out to dinner. Smiling to himself, Stark looked forward to that awkwardly phrased attempt at a question.

“Now,” Stark turned to push his chair under the table and lean against the back, staring down at Carter, who hadn’t moved to stand yet, “Unless you can cook, how about Café Diem to-go?”

“Okay, but--“

“--And then your place or mine?”

“Uh, well...”

Stark calmly walked around the table and rested against the edge, left leg supporting his weight and the right touching Carter’s as he tilted his head to one side and continued to stare down at him. Carter shielded his eyes but couldn’t completely hide the light flush to his skin.

“Stop it.”

Gently moving Carter’s hands away, Stark stifled a laugh at the stubbornly closed eyes and lips. He leaned in close to Carter’s ear and whispered, “Stop making it so easy then.”

In retrospect, Stark thought that perhaps the lick to Carter’s earlobe was a little over the top. The undignified sound he made seemed to bounce off of every book in the library.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt: Author's choice, author's choice,  
> "The library is a quiet place.  
> Angels and gods huddled  
> In dark unopened books."  
> [From "In the Library" by Charles Simic]  
> The theme: Free for all (none/any)  
> Originally posted [here](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/496420.html?thread=73370916#t73370916).  
> I only own the writing.
> 
> For the curious... This was a celebratory, library appreciation story for me: I had just accepted a job offer and was to start work the next week as a librarian. ~.^


End file.
